Love & Squalor makes serious wines with a humorous touch
Updated: Jul. 13, 2022, 10:01 a.m. | Published: Jul. 13, 2022
Winery spotlight: Love & Squalor
By Michael Alberty | For The Oregonian/OregonLIve
My dad once asked me to track down a wine called Lust & Poverty, and it took me a few days to figure out he was talking about a new winery named Love & Squalor. That was almost 14 years ago, and I’ve been happily drinking Matt Berson’s wines ever since.
Love & Squalor is best known for: dry wit and dry riesling.
“Must try” current release: 2017 Love & Squalor Willamette Valley Dry Riesling ($20). A delightfully crisp wine filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of citrus, chamomile tea, and Granny Smith apples.
Innovation: In 2012, a half-ton of gewürztraminer arrived unexpectedly during harvest chaos. Berson kept the fruit, but he couldn’t process it right away. After 10 days spent soaking in a cooler, the grapes were pressed, and the traditionally white gewürztraminer was now an orange-colored wine with some tannic structure.
Berson named the wine “A Frayed Knot.” It was one of the Willamette Valley’s first extended skin-contact “orange wines.” While Berson thought it might be a “one-off” if nobody liked it, he’s been making the wine ever since.
The most recent experiment is a 250 ml. can of sparkling sauvignon blanc infused with fresh Mosaic hops. The Portland Wine Company “Rumble Can” sells for $7 and is an exotic pick-me-up on a warm summer evening.
Favorite Oregon “get away” spot: The Chicken House in Gearhart. “It’s a nice place on the coast to relax,” Berson said.
History: Twenty years ago, Matt Berson put San Francisco in his rearview mirror to take a job managing the now-defunct Oritalia restaurant at The Westin Portland hotel.
Working at various restaurants in the Bay Area, Berson was well-versed in wines from California, Italy and France. His familiarity with Oregon wines, however, was limited. That changed quickly. “I started tasting Willamette Valley rieslings made by Jimi Brooks, Jay Somers and Tad Seestedt. They were so lively and dynamic that my mind was blown,” Berson said.
Berson’s journey to winemaking began with an invitation to pour wines one weekend at a Patricia Green Cellars open house.
Winemaker Patty Green and Berson hit it off, so he returned to work harvest for her in 2003. The restaurant career was over as Berson worked various jobs with Green, Somers, Brooks and anyone who needed help at the Carlton Winemakers Studio. Stints in New Zealand, Argentina, German and the Napa Valley rounded out his winemaking chops.
Berson made his first wines while working for Seestedt at Ransom Wines in 2006. The only problem was Berson didn’t have a name for his winery. “I was carrying around a notebook to jot down ideas, but nothing was clicking,” Berson said.
Then Berson picked up a copy of J.D. Salinger short stories at a Goodwill store. “For Esme — With Love and Squalor” resonated with him. “I thought to myself, ‘love and squalor, that’s it, that’s winemaking,’” Berson said.
The laundry-filled clothesline on Love & Squalor labels also reinforces winemaking’s sometimes precarious nature. The clothesline artwork was created by artist Clare Carver of Big Table Farm winery fame. Angela Reat, Love & Squalor’s general manager and Berson’s partner and wife, has created the winery’s labels and graphics since then.
Love & Squalor’s winery and tasting room is located inside the Portland Wine Company building at 3201 S.E. 50th Ave.
What we don’t know: Berson co-wrote a restaurant gossip column in San Francisco in the late 1990s. The “Side Dish” appeared in SF Weekly under the nom de plume of Harry Coverte.
Biggest inspiration: In terms of wine, Berson names two friends and mentors who are no longer with us: Jimi Brooks and Patty Green. “I’m always thinking about how they would do something in the cellar or what music Jimi would be playing. Their presence motivates me to do better,” Berson said.
Berson also names his parents, Tom and Dorothy Berson, who he said “found their own way in life, with thoughtfulness and on their own terms.”
Key insight: Berson would like to reassure everybody that while he has fun with his labels and life, he takes winemaking seriously. “We fret, worry and split hairs over every grape we pick and every single wine we make. Maybe think of me as a comedic actor that’s also pretty good at taking dramatic turns,” Berson said.
Where to buy: Love & Squalor wines are easy to find in the Portland area at Division Wines and various New Seasons Market, Market of Choice and Zupan’s Markets locations.
In Portland, Gado Gado, Noble Rot and Bullard Tavern are the places to be if you would like to experience Love & Squalor wines with food. In San Francisco and Seattle, Berson’s wines are served at Waterbar and Rock Creek Seafood, respectively.
portlandwinecompany.com or info@loveandsqualorwine.com.
-- Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine.
